Room 013
by xMeme
Summary: Amidst the rumors about a ghost inside the school and the worsening class wars, two people discover that they can be more than just a name and a face to each other. Ryoma and Sakuno,from mere acquaintances,to friends and perhaps, to something more.
1. The Ghost of Room 013

**Tennis no Oujisama** © Konomi Takeshi JUMP Shueisha

* * *

**Room 013**

* * *

**I. The Ghost of Room 013**

Everything was in perfect disarray.

Large, unsealed boxes haphazardly lay in every corner and took up most of the free space in the room. Some were toppled over, spilling items like half-empty paint cans and used brushes. Some, meanwhile, though arranged in stacks, looked like they would come crashing down at the slightest movement.

Surrounded by these boxes, three wooden bookshelves stood, each filled with old books and magazines which the library no longer deemed useful. However, it would take a great amount of effort before someone could actually see them as they were all buried underneath the various stage props, rolled-up backdrops and other materials previously used for play presentations and other student programs.

Overhead, cobwebs conquered the entire ceiling and left no space untouched.

If dirty, messy rooms were considered an art form, then the dimly-lit and roach-infested Room 013 of Seigaku's highschool division would undeniably be a masterpiece.

But it was a masterpiece one would least likely want to see on a regular basis.

It was a masterpiece a certain boy from Class 1-A regretted seeing.

* * *

Refreshed after a quick trip to the boy' lavatory, Horio Satoshi leisurely traveled the deserted hallway leading to Section 1-A's classroom. Loud squeaks came from his white inside shoes as they hit the tiled floor, the sound strangely blending well with the lively melody coming out of his pursed lips. Glancing to his right, he unintentionally caught sight of a flock of birds flying across the clear, blue skies. He smiled. It was the first time that he had seen such a vision. 

Well, since the weekend anyway.

Before Monday came, Tokyo had been at the mercy of Mother Nature's lashings. Nothing but dark, gray clouds loomed over the city, bringing both strong winds and occasional rain showers. No part of Tokyo was left dry and untouched by their presence–just as no part of him was left dry and untouched either after he was unexpectedly caught under one of those random downpours, an event which had left him with a nasty cold over the weekend, as well as a very sour disposition.

But that and the dismal weather were a thing of the past now. Today was a wonderful day, and he was in a wonderful mood.

And Horio Satoshi firmly believed that on a day like this, nothing, and he really meant _nothing_ could ever go wrong.

Almost.

* * *

Horio was directly in front of Room 013 when suddenly his left foot slipped. His backside would've instantly met the floor if only he weren't quick enough to grab the door handle for support. Glad that he was able to escape such a painful (and humiliating, if only he didn't have the hallway all to himself) experience, Horio let out a sigh of relief. And then he wondered why the floor in front of Room 013 was wet. As far as he could remember, it was dry the first time he had passed by it on his way to the boy's lavatory. 

Deciding not to dwell on that thought anymore, Horio straightened himself up and moved to fix the collar of his white polo shirt. Afterwards, he brushed some imaginary dirt off his sleeves and front. Pursing his lips, he was about to resume whistling his favorite _tokusatsu_ theme when he thought he had heard a voice coming from Room 013.

_Fushigi-shigi Makafushigi Ruwa_

Pressing his ear on the wooden panel, he listened carefully.

_Fushigi-shigi Makafushigi Ruwa_

And he discovered that he was not hallucinating.

_Fushigi-girai wa yowamushi komushi Ruwa_

Indeed,there was a voice—a female voice.

_Shigi-shigi Ruwa Shigi-shigi Ruwa_

And she was singing.

_Zuden to tataite keto-keto-ketobashite_

Eerily, she was singing the exact same song that he had inside his mind.

_Shigi-shigi Ruwa Shigi-shigi Ruwa_

Curious, he decided to see who the mysterious singer was. (And maybe befriend her for he loved meeting people who shared his interests.)

_Koro-koro-koro-korogase_

Taking a deep breath, he gripped the door handle tightly.

_Fukai tanisoko tsukiotose_

And slowly, he pushed the wooden panel open.

_Fushigi Fushigi Fushigi_

The door made a loud creaking sound.

_Ruwa Ruwa Ruwa_

And the voice disappeared instantly.

Horio felt somewhat disturbed. But that didn't stop him from stepping inside. Closing the door behind him, he reached for the light switch that was on his left. He flipped it once. The room remained unlit. Looking up, he cursed upon seeing that the ceiling didn't actually have any light bulbs for him to turn on.

"Oh great!" he muttered in a voice thick with sarcasm. He released a sharp breath. It seemed he had just to make do with the little light that's coming from the jalousies that were still left unblocked by the huge boxes.

Squinting, Horio walked forward, his eyes searching for any signs of the girl he had heard earlier. He was already feeling rather uncomfortable, but it was not enough for him to completely disregard his curiosity.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but cats have nine lives right?

"Hello?" he called out. "Is…is there anybody here?"

He jolted when he heard a loud crash behind him. Looking back, he saw that one box had been overturned, spilling the paint cans it contained onto the tiled, dusty floor. Horio clutched his chest as he tried to breathe deeply in order to calm his hastily beating heart.

"Come on, Horio, the box just fell out of balance. It was nothing," he declared before his laughter broke the silence inside Room 013. "You're just being silly," he added as he gave himself a scolding slap on the forehead.

A stack of boxes tumbled down.

Horio froze.

"They just fell out of balance. They just fell out of balance," he repeated several times convince himself that everything was just normal. He forced another laugh.

A large paint brush flew and hit him on the head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the sore part. Frantically, he looked around him.

Another stack of boxes crashed to the floor.

And another.

And another.

And another.

As the fifth stack crashed, Horio took his cue.

As quickly as he could, he scrambled towards the door, unmindful that he almost tripped over one of the paint cans. All he could ever think of right then was leaving—and leaving fast!

It only took a matter seconds before Horio fully left Room 013. And as soon as the door closed with a bang, a pair of white inside shoes with red tips appeared from behind one of the wooden shelves.

A loud giggle was heard next.

"Idiot."

* * *

Sixteen-year-old Echizen Ryoma was never a believer of supernatural things. For the Tennis Prince, entities like ghosts (and other beings not normally seen by the naked eye) only existed in fictional books and horror movies. They were merely a figment of the human mind's colorful imagination. They weren't real. 

They'd never be.

"It's true! I, Horio with my six years of Tennis experience and two years of Paranormal Studies, can assure you that there is indeed a ghost inside the storage room! I've experienced its presence firsthand!"

With his head resting on the smooth surface of his desk, Ryoma gave a yawn as he watched the varying expressions donned by his classmates after listening to Horio's declaration. Some looked really interested. Some looked scared. Ryoma snorted. He couldn't believe they were actually wasting their free time discussing about such irrelevant topics. Heck, he was surprised they even decided to believe _Horio_, of all people! Instead of these senseless chitchats, he wondered why his classmates couldn't opt to do something more productive— like shutting up and letting him have his nap in peace!

Currently, there was nothing that Ryoma wanted the most but their complete silence. But seeing how they continue to crowd around Horio, Ryoma knew he just had to accept the fact that silence would be the last thing he'd get.

"Tell us what happened, Horio-kun," he heard a girl in a short bob say.

There was a short pause as Horio's gaze brushed the different expectant faces surrounding him. Then slowly, he leaned forward towards his audience and in an almost whispery voice he said, "I heard a voice—a female voice."

Wearing a thoughtful expression, the boy cupped his chin in between his thumb and forefinger. "At first, I thought some student went inside the room, out of curiosity maybe. But," He narrowed his eyes as he pretended to open an imaginary door, "When I checked inside, there was no one there. And then…" he stalled for a more histrionic effect. The other students leaned in closer and held their breaths.

"BOOM!" he yelled all of a sudden, causing several people to jolt. Flinging his arms into the air, Horio continued his narration. "Boxes began falling off from their stacks; paints cans were rolling everywhere, other objects were also flying around—the whole place was in chaos!" Placing his hands on his hips, he wore a serious expression on his face. "Right then and there, I knew it was ghost."

_No, it was a product of your hyperactive imagination caused by reading too much horror manga_, Ryoma almost wanted to point out but chose not to in order to avoid giving the impression that he was listening in to their conversation and was actually interested enough to join the discussion. Instead, he closed his eyes and buried his face on his desk. And though they were distracting him from attempts to take a short sleep, he allowed the murmurs around him to continue.

"Eh? That's so freaky!"

"No wonder I have goose bumps appearing on my arms whenever I pass by the storage room."

"Hey, I remember my older sister once told me a student died in this school a long, long time ago."

"Is that for real?"

"Yeah, and she said that particular student committed suicide in Room 013!"

"Waa! I'm never going to that part of the building again!"

"They are so silly."

Ryoma's eyes snapped open upon hearing a female voice speak beside him. He mumbled a 'Hn' as if to express his agreement. Then, a smirk graced his features. Finally, there was someone who shared his sentiments. Curious as to whom the speaker was (she sounded so unfamiliar), he twisted his head to the right.

To his surprise, an empty desk greeted his eyes.

Brows furrowing, Ryoma slowly straightened himself up. Then, he shook his head to clear himself of the little drowsiness that he had left. From the desk on his right, he diverted his attention to the other seats surrounding him.

They were all empty.

His gaze wandered up front. All his classmates were still huddled with Horio. If that's the case, then whose voice did he hear?

Or did he really hear it?

Thinking about it now, he realized he wasn't sure, especially after taking into account the fact that he was barely awake when he had supposedly heard the voice.

"Whatever. Maybe I was just hearing things," he muttered, deciding not to make a big deal out of something that wasn't even important in the first place. Yawning, he leaned forward to rest his head again on his desk. His plan, however, was thwarted when Horio unexpectedly called his attention.

"Oi, Echizen, why don't you join us here instead of trying to be the odd man out again?"

"Not interested," Ryoma replied as he wore an indifferent look on his features—something which garnered an exasperated huff from Horio. The perennial tennis club member was about to retort when someone else interfered in his conversation with the Tennis Prince.

"Ne, Echizen-kun, do you also believe the stories about Room 013?" a boy in spectacles asked.

For a moment or two, Ryoma didn't say a word as he allowed his gaze to brush the faces of the different people inside the room. He could see that everyone was looking at him curiously. It was as if they were really anxious to hear the answer that would escape his lips.

Finally, after taking a deep breath, he ended his short silence.

"I don't believe in ghosts," he stated in a voice thick with conviction. "Ghosts aren't real."

Right after he had said this, the door suddenly opened with a loud bang.

"Aaaaaaaa!"

And for the first time since the start of the school year, class 1-A was filled with earsplitting screams.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another room, a few meters away from 1-A, there was another shriek. 

"Aaaaaaaaaa!"

Clutching a box filled with Noh masks, Ryuuzaki Sakuno stood unmoved by the doorway as she curiously stared at the scene happening before her. A pretty girl with long, flowing black hair was currently shaking a bespectacled boy so violently, Sakuno was worried he might end up with a pair of dislocated shoulders afterwards.

"Tell me he didn't do it, Yoshida! Tell me!"

A scared-looking Yoshida gulped. "Uh…he didn't do it?"

The girl, instead of being appeased, was even more enraged. "Don't lie to me!"

"B-but you just told me to tell you that—"

"Shut up!"

A confused expression appeared on Sakuno's features as she watched the fuming girl walk back and forth while randomly mumbling curses at the same time. Turning to her left, the pigtailed girl saw a boy comfortably seated down on the floor. He was busy cutting a piece of cardboard into different shapes and sizes. She called out his attention.

"Ne, Masao-kun, what's wrong with Izumi-chan?"

Spiky-haired, heavy-eyed Masao paused from what he was doing to glance at the pair currently occupying the teacher's ledge. Then, he looked at Sakuno and answered in a nonchalant tone, "She just discovered that 1-A's doing a horror room as well. Morikawa submitted their proposal earlier and according to Yoshida, it was immediately approved by the council."

Sakuno's lips formed an 'oh'. Setting the box she was carrying down on the floor, she took the space next to Masao. "Hmm…that's strange. It's not like this is the first time that another class has ended up using the same idea as ours. I don't remember Izumi-chan reacting in this manner back in Junior High."

This time, a girl occupying a nearby desk leaned forward and decided to join the conversation. Her name was Hidaka Yukiko.

"It was different then, Sakuno-chan," Yukiko remarked in an almost whispery voice. "Morikawa wasn't a part of the equation. You're aware that they have some…er…personal issues right?"

Sakuno wrinkled her forehead. "They do?"

"Have you been living under a rock or something?" Yukiko said as she threw the pigtailed girl a disbelieving stare. "Even someone like Masao knows that." Quickly realizing the meaning of what she had just said, she turned to Masao, who, at that moment, was looking at her blankly. "Um…no offense meant."

Masao waved a hand dismissively. "None taken," he answered in his usual monotone before continung his interrupted activity of cutting cardboards into pieces.

Yukiko then returned her attention to Sakuno who only smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Mou, Sakuno-chan, you should become aware of the things going around you," Yukiko said as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "If you don't, you'll keep on overlooking all these juicy, interesting details—like Izumi-chan's and Morikawa's break-up."

Sakuno's eyes widened. "Waa? Izumi-chan and Morikawa-kun were…?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know that they were going out for the past year."

An innocent-looking Sakuno shook her head.

Releasing a sigh, Yukiko rolled her eyes at her friend's utter ignorance when it comes to anything that's not about academic stuff or club matters. "You know, with Tomo-chan as your best friend, I thought you'd be more well-informed about things like this," she paused, "Speaking of Tomo-chan, where is she, by the way? Weren't you supposed to get those Noh masks together?"

"She told me she'll be going to the girl's bathroom," Sakuno replied as she glanced at the doorway. "It's taking her long though… "

Yukiko chuckled. "Knowing her, she must have stopped by at 1-A to take a peek at her Prince." Wrinkling her nose, she flipped a mass of wavy brown hair off her shoulder. "Frankly, I don't get her fascination for Echizen. Do you, Sakuno-chan?"

"Huh?" Sakuno looked back at Yukiko, but quickly lowered her gaze down to her stretched-out legs in order to avoid the other girl's inquiring stare. "Well, he does play an exceptional game of tennis…" she answered meekly. "And he also gets really good grades in class and…" Sakuno paused as an image appeared in her mind—an image of a raven-haired boy with sharp, cat-like eyes and a smirk that had always made her weak in the knees.

_And he's pretty good-looking, too_, she added though only mentally for she lacked the courage to say something like that out loud, in fear that Yukiko or someone else might discover her long-kept secret: that she, Ryuuzaki Sakuno, was still fascinated with Echizen Ryoma as much as Tomoka was—or perhaps, even more.

"And what, Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno bit her lower lip and thought about what she should say next. "Uh…and he's…he's…"

"Pretty good-looking, too," Masao cut in, his eyes never leaving the cardboard in his hand.

With mouths agape, both Sakuno and Yukiko stared at him as if he had suddenly grown two heads. Sensing their eyes were on him, he stopped to give a glance to each girl. "What? I was merely stating a fact," he pointed out before once again resuming his work.

Yukiko returned her full attention to Sakuno, while trying to forget the fact that their normally stoic classmate had just uncharacteristically blurted out a comment about the renowned Tennis Prince. "Okay, fine. Granted, Echizen is everything that you and,"—she cleared her throat and took a quick glimpse of Masao—"Masao said, he's still very arrogant, apathetic and last but not the least, insensitive to other people's feelings. With a personality like that, it really makes me wonder why many are still smitten by him. In this class alone, I can only think of five or six other people who are like us."

Sakuno furrowed her brow. "L-like us?"

"You know, people who are immune to Echizen's so-called charm," Yukiko said in a matter-of-factly tone.

Sakuno merely smiled a little upon hearing this. Silence, she thought, was the best option at that moment. The less she spoke, the less chance she had for mistakes. She just hoped Yukiko wouldn't ask her _that_ question.

"Am I correct, Sakuno-chan?"

Unfortunately, her prayer was left unanswered.

"You are immune to him…right?"

"Eh?" Right then, Sakuno was wishing that she were in another place, a place far from Yukiko's sharp, questioning stare. Now what? She didn't want to admit the truth, but she didn't want to deny it either. "Well…" she stalled, hoping that while she was dong so, a miracle would occur and save her from this situation.

To her delight, her miracle came in the form of Kobayashi Izumi.

A loud thud was heard as Izumi slammed her hands down on the teacher's table. The room fell silent momentarily. "That's it! I'm going to have a word with that guy!" she exclaimed, before stomping her way towards the door, leaving Yoshida and the others to only stare after her.

As soon as Izumi had pulled the door close behind her, the class once against burst into murmurs—which eventually turned into a loud discussion.

"I sense a second Onin War!"

"Onin War?! I say, it's World War number three!"

"Ne, who do you think will win?"

"I'll bet my every yen on Izumi."

"A thousand yen for Izumi, too."

"Geez, I can't believe you guys decided to make a wager on this." A pause. "But it seems fun, so one thousand and five hundred yen for Morikawa!"

They laughed.

The class' attention was suddenly diverted though upon hearing the sound of the door opening again. Thinking that their hotheaded class leader came back, they tried to quickly suppress their amusement so as to avoid being the receiving end of the girl's bad temper. To their relief, only a confused Tomoka was at the doorway.

"Hey, did I miss something? I met Izumi outside and she looks like she's ready to kill someone," Tomoka said as she stepped inside the room.

Yukiko waved a hand at the other girl. "Come here, Tomo-chan and I'll tell you all about it."

As Tomoka moved to sit on the empty desk beside Yukiko, Sakuno let out a sigh of relief. With the other girl now distracted with giving Tomoka a quick recap of the things that had happened, the pigtailed girl found herself saved from answering Yukiko's question–which would've prompted her to lie, if only these distractions didn't come sooner. And she hated lying to her friends.

Standing up, Sakuno ran her hands over her skirt, brushing off the little dust it may have acquired. Then, she lifted the box filled with Noh masks off the floor, just around the same time Masao turned to look at her.

"Where are you going?"

"Ummm…I'm just going to place this box at the back."

Masao only nodded.

Averting her eyes from the boy, Sakuno was about to walk towards the back portion of the room when her feet froze. Up ahead, she saw a girl standing alone in a corner. Her long black hair was covering a big portion of her face, making it difficult to see how she looked like. She was wearing the same uniform as every other female in the room, though hers was more creased and unkempt—as if she had not changed her clothes for years.

Sakuno looked around her. Everyone was still busy talking or doing the tasks that Izumi had assigned to them. It was as if the girl at the back of the room was nonexistent.

"What's wrong?" Masao's curious voice caught her attention and she gave the boy a glance.

"Ano…there's…" Sakuno looked back at the girl, but to her surprise, only a blank wall greeted her eyes. Still, her gaze continued to search across the room. She, however, didn't see any signs of the girl anywhere.

A sudden chill ran down Sakuno's spine but she tried her best to keep her facial expression neutral. The pigtailed girl shook her head. "Nothing," she muttered. "I was probably just imagining things."

And then, she walked away.

**TBC.**

* * *

This fic is written supposedly for the writing exercises over at the Imagination:Unleashed forum, but sadly, I missed the deadline. Prompts used for this are _doppelganger_, _spirits_ and _I see dead people_. Song used in the third section is **Fushigi Songu** (Mysterious Song) by **Koorogi '73 (**lyrics (c) Uehara Shouzou). 

If there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out.

Thank you for reading. XD


	2. Class Wars

**Tennis no Oujisama** © Konomi Takeshi JUMP Shueisha

* * *

**Room 013**

* * *

**II. Class Wars**

"Aaaaaaaaaa!"

Resting a cheek on the palm of his hand, Ryoma raised an eyebrow as his eyes lazily darted from one screaming boy to another. If this were any other day, he would have found amusement in seeing how idiotic they both looked. Unfortunately, he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, no thanks to his annoying Oyaji who had pulled a prank on him by setting his alarm clock two hours before his usual wake-up time. And as if waking up early wasn't already bad enough (he needed his nine hour of sleep, damn it!), his mom, of all days, decided to prepare a continental breakfast.

Not the best way to start one's morning—or his morning, to be precise.

His mood had almost gotten better though. But the keyword there was _almost_. He was so close to having his precious nap time when Horio suddenly came in, sputtering about ghosts and whatnot. After that, the whole class began flocking to him like bees (well, their murmurs did sound like bees buzzing around) to a flower (okay, Horio as a flower was a very disturbing analogy) and the rest, as they say, was history.

Ryoma let out a sharp breath as Horio and the other boy's voices continued to grate his nerves. This had to stop. His cranky, sleep-deprived self could only take so much noise.

"Oi, what are you two screaming about?" he blurted out amidst the screams. While his facial expression remained calm, anyone but a deaf man could detect the irritation in the Tennis Prince's voice.

Almost immediately, two mouths clamped shut. Both boys looked as if someone had splashed them with a bucket full of ice-cold water. Together, they threw a quick glance to Ryoma's direction (the Tennis Prince continued to don an apathetic expression); and then, they returned to gaze at each other.

At that moment, the room was eerily silent; one could almost hear each other's heartbeats.

But the silence, sadly (in Ryoma's case anyway) was only temporary.

"Hideki!" Horio looked enraged. "What's the big idea, barging in and screaming in here like that all of a sudden?!"

Tall, lean and blond-streaked Morikawa Hideki was flabbergasted by Horio's accusation. "Me?!" he pointed to himself. "It was you who started screaming first!"

Horio looked past Hideki's shoulder to glance at his two friends, Kachiro and Katsuo, who were currently following the other boy to the teacher's ledge. He furrowed his brow as if asking them to either confirm or refute what Morikawa had said.

He hoped they wouldn't nod.

They did.

Horio's eyes traveled from the mocking smirk on Morikawa's face to the fervent stares from everyone else. At that moment, he wanted to sink into the floor beneath him because of embarrassment. But he was Horio Satoshi—and Horio Satoshi had always dealt every situation with his head held high.

Clearing his throat, he adjusted the collar of his shirt and courageously met Hideki's gaze. "Well, you suddenly slammed the door against the wall; I was surprised."

Shaking his head, Hideki waved a finger at him. "Tsk.Tsk. I told you, Horio-kun, drinking too much of Pokka is bad for you. See? You've become jumpier than before," he remarked with his lips forming a playful smile.

Horio snorted. "Shut up, Hideki. At least, _I_ have an excuse." He cocked his head to the right and looked at the other boy challengingly. "How about you? What's _your_ excuse?"

Smile slowly fading, Hideki stiffened. Tearing his eyes way from Horio, he focused all his attention on the ceiling as if the spotless space of white above him held the most interesting view ever seen by man. Running a hand through his hair, he coughed once before mumbling, "I got carried away."

Unable to catch what the other boy had said, Horio knitted his brows and looked at Hideki questioningly. "What?"

"Sorry. I won't repeat myself."

"But I didn't understand what you said!"

From behind Hideki, a meek-looking Kachiro took a step forward and offered his help.

"Morikawa-kun said he got carried away."

A gesture which wasn't really appreciated by the then stunned class leader.

Horio raised an eyebrow. "You were carried away?" He snickered. "Don't tell me, that's the effect of drinking too much of those power drinks?" Teasing remarks soon followed from everyone else.

Hideki forced a chuckle. Turning to Kachiro (whose face was already devoid of color), he patted the other boy on the shoulder several times.

"Thank you very much for clearing things for me, assistant leader Kachiro-kun. But next time," he smiled, "Please, just shut your mouth, okay?"

Kachiro nodded as he tried not to wince every time Hideki's hand landed on him. In deed, what he heard about the members of the Judo club was true: all of them had hands made of steel.

Ignoring Horio's additional teases, Hideki clapped his hands thrice and called out his classmates' attention. "Enough of this nonsense. People, kindly return to your seats. We need to discuss something important."

There were some verbal protests from Horio ("Hideki! You're being evasive again!"), but amazingly, he, as well as the rest of the class still did what they were told to do. It wasn't because they were afraid of him. Truth be told, they could tease him endlessly and not worry about him being one of the Judo club's best members. They knew he wouldn't dare hurt anyone, unless it's really necessary and justifiable. It's part of his I-practice-Judo-not-to-hurt-but-to-save principle—which was quite nobler in comparison to his other principle, the I-practice-Judo-to-impress-the-ladies principle.

Though they would joke around with him most of the time, the students of 1-A held a good amount of respect for Hideki. They knew when to regard him as a friend and a classmate, and when to regard him as their section's chief officer. They had always believed in his views and his leadership skills. Why else did they choose him to lead them?

And in return for his classmates' great confidence in him, Hideki would always try to do his best for the class. His goal: to make 1-A excel in everything they did.

Leaning forward, Hideki laid both of his hands on the table for support as his features wore a serious expression. "Now, I want everyone's full attention in this," he said as his eyes wandered to the back of the room. His gaze stopped on a certain raven-haired boy who currently had his face buried on the surface of his desk. _Typical_, he mused as he shook his head. "And when I say everyone," he began to say in a voice that was much louder than his earlier one, "That includes you as well, Echizen-kun."

Ryoma raised his head.

"If you don't mind…"

Grudgingly, the Tennis Prince sat upright.

Hideki bowed his head once. "Thank you, Echizen-kun."

Hideki, upon seeing that all his classmates were already settled in their seats, smiled. "Since everybody's ready, let's begin this meeting." He turned to Katsuo. "Secretary Katsuo-kun, please jot down the details of this discussion."

Katsuo nodded, before proceeding to write the words 'Plans and Suggestions' on the blackboard.

Pulling a chair out from the teacher's table, Hideki then waved a hand at Kachiro. "Kachiro-kun, do the honors of explaining today's agenda."

"Okay."

And Kachiro began.

* * *

In his seat, Ryoma half-heartedly listened as the boy with the bowl-cut hair revealed about 1-A's upcoming project. His eyes wandered around. Some looked happy with the idea of having a horror room for the school festival. Some, meanwhile, looked…baffled. 

A brown-haired girl in a ponytail raised her hand.

"Yes, Michiko?"

"Hideki-kun," Michiko started to say, "Isn't 1-F doing a horror room as well?"

Hideki, for a moment, looked contemplative. And then, a smirk graced his handsome features. "So? There's no rules that says two classes can't have the same project."

"But it might look like we're deliberately competing with 1-F again," a boy with chubby cheeks reasoned.

"There is nothing wrong with that, is there? Sometimes, we need a little healthy competition," the class leader leaned back against his chair. "It makes things more fun, and at the same time, it motivates us to do better."

Horio coughed. "Are you sure you don't have any personal motives?"

Hideki looked confused—or at least, he pretended to. "I don't get what you mean."

Horio raised two of his fingers. "Two words: Kobayashi Izumi."

Upon hearing the name, the whole class erupted into snickers.

Seeing the teasing looks that were being thrown again in his direction, Hideki released a sharp breath before his chuckles filled the room. "Horio-kun, you always say the craziest things. And people," he tapped the table surface twice. "Let's focus on our agenda and not on other irrelevant things, all right?" He craned his neck as his eyes brushed each of the faces inside the room. "Now, who among you here likes to volunteer his or her time in planning and managing the props we need?"

The students moved to look at each other.

Hideki furrowed his brow. "Anyone? Come on, guys…"

Slowly, a hand shot up in the air. And Hideki's eyes widened, seeing that his volunteer was the last person he thought would actively participate in this class project. He gave a quick glance to both Kachiro and Katsuo. If Hideki considered himself surprised, the two boys were stunned and bewildered to the nth degree.

"E-echizen-kun?"

All eyes curiously turned to the boy at the back of the room.

Ryoma's gaze met everyone's shocked faces. He pulled his hand down as he looked back at Hideki.

"Echizen-kun, are you sure that–"

"I want to go the bathroom," Ryoma cut in.

Hideki blinked. "What?"

"I want to go the bathroom," the Tennis Prince repeated in his usual monotone.

"And… you were raising your hand for that?" Hideki asked in disbelief.

Ryoma nodded.

Hideki inwardly laughed at himself. How foolish of him to believe that the famous tennis prodigy would actually go out of his way to volunteer himself in something that didn't involve tennis. The stars would have to fall down from the skies first before that happened.

"So, can I go now?"

Hideki stared at Ryoma's bored expression and sighed. "Fine, you may go."

Ignoring all the attention directed to him, Ryoma stood up and walked towards the door. He was about to reach for the knob when suddenly, the wooden panel swung open and revealed a slim, black-haired girl whom he recognized as Kobayashi Izumi, class leader of 1-F. Judging by how flushed her entire face was and how her eyes burned with anger, Ryoma was certain she came to 1-A's territory for blood.

"Where is he?!"

Hideki's blood, to be specific.

Stepping aside, Ryoma looked on as Izumi marched towards Hideki. Though 1-A's class leader, with his expressionless face, seemed unperturbed by the presence of 1-F's own chief officer, it didn't escape the Tennis Prince's keen observation how Hideki paled at the sight of the fuming girl. Ryoma mumbled a 'Hn.'

Girlfriends were troublesome; ex-girlfriends were twice as worse. Thank god, he didn't have either.

His life was simply perfect.

Tearing his eyes away from the pair, the Tennis Prince nonchalantly stepped out of the room, and pulled the door close behind him.

* * *

Contrary to what most of them expected, Izumi didn't make a scene inside the 1-A classroom. Strangely, there was no yelling; and there were no punches thrown. And though earlier she looked like she a hunter who was ready to pounce on her prey, none of it could be seen right then as she stood in front of Hideki with nothing but a calm expression on her face. 

"I want to talk to you. Outside."

That was the only thing Izumi said before she stepped out of the room.

Hideki released a sharp breath as he stood up from his seat. But before following the girl, he turned to Kachiro and gave him a last-minute instruction.

"Kachiro-kun, please take over the meeting."

And then he went out, gently shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Every time Sakuno had that dazed, faraway look, Tomoka was certain there was something wrong with her best friend. 

Right after her conversation with Yukiko, Tomoka searched around for Sakuno upon noticing that the pigtailed girl didn't return after bringing the Noh masks to the back portion of the classroom. She immediately found her friend in her assigned seat—silent, frozen and oblivious to the things going on around her.

Leaving Yukiko behind (the talkative, wavy-haired girl was already busy chitchatting with another classmate), Tomoka hastily walked towards Sakuno. She stopped just a foot away from the other girl's desk. Sakuno, however didn't acknowledge her presence. Tomoka's forehead creased.

Sakuno must have a really, really big problem!

In order to catch the pigtailed girl's attention, Tomoka snapped her fingers in front of her best friend's eyes. Sakuno blinked.

"Hey, Sakuno, is there something wrong?"

Sakuno looked up, confusion written all over her features. "Huh?"

Gathering her dark blue skirt together, Tomoka sat down on the edge of Sakuno's desk. "You have a problem, don't you?" she asked, her voice obviously hinting her concern.

The pigtailed girl smiled a little and shook her head. "I don't have any problems, Tomo-chan. What gave you that idea?"

"Because you looked so out of yourself earlier!"

"Oh." A pause. "I was just thinking," Sakuno answered softly as she glanced away.

"Thinking of what?"

"Of…" A seemingly tensed Sakuno stalled. "Of what other props we could use for the horror room," she finished as she looked back at Tomoka.

"Really?" Tomoka sounded unconvinced.

"Y-yes!"

Though she barely believed her best friend, Tomoka decided not to pressure the pigtailed girl into revealing what was really on her mind. Sakuno was probably not ready, she thought. But Tomoka was confident that eventually, she would open up to her about whatever it was that's bothering her.

All she had to do was wait for that time.

Sighing, she waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, if you say so." Grinning, Tomoka decided to change the subject. "By the way, Sakuno, what do you think is happening between Izumi and Morikawa right now?" she asked as her eyes gleamed with utter interest.

Sakuno, relieved that Tomoka didn't press her inquiries further, gave a more relaxed smile. "I don't know, Tomo-chan." She bit her lower lip as she pondered for a moment or two. "Hmm… they're probably just talking. I mean, what else would they do? "

Tomoka chuckled. "Well, after seeing how furious Izumi was, I'm expecting a few flying fists just like their last confrontation."

Sakuno stared at her questioningly. "Eh?"

"Oh, I forgot you were absent that time," Tomoka muttered as she snapped her fingers. "Ummm…Izumi punched Morikawa."

"She did?!" Sakuno exclaimed incredulously.

"Yep. And you should have seen Morikawa's face. He ended up looking like a panda because of the two black eyes he received from Izumi!"

Imagining the scene in her mind, Sakuno could not help but laugh a little. She knew that she shouldn't find amusement in another person's misfortune, but the mental image she had conceived was just so funny. And it didn't help that Tomoka had a very contagious giggle…

But as another picture flashed in her mind, the laughter died from her lips. Why couldn't it go away? Why couldn't she just forget about the girl at the back of the room? She had already convinced herself that what she saw was not real. It was merely a side effect caused by her not taking any meals before going to school.

Right?

Taking a deep breath, Sakuno donned a casual expression as she leaned forward and rested her cheek on the palm of her hand. "Ne, Tomo-chan, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Do…" she did a hesitant pause, "Do you believe in ghosts?"

For a moment, Sakuno thought she saw a worried look on Tomoka's features. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving the pigtailed girl wondering whether her eyes were simply failing her or not.

"Hey, Sakuno, why are you asking me that all of a sudden?"

"Ummm…no reason in particular," she lied. "It was just a random thought."

"No, I don't believe in ghosts," Tomo declared confidently as she met Sakuno's gaze. "They are not real."

"Yes, they are."

Tomoka slightly jolted upon suddenly hearing a creepy-sounding voice behind her.

Standing up from the desk, Tomoka turned around and gave the uninvited speaker a hard glare. "Ito Masao! What's the big idea, suddenly popping in like that?!"

In response, an unruffled Masao merely stared at Tomoka. And then a few seconds later, he shrugged. "Sorry."

Tomoka was about to tell the boy off for not sounding so sincere in his apology when Sakuno spoke before she could.

"So, Masao-kun really believes ghosts eh?"

"Of course." The spiky-haired boy nodded. "You can't see them, but they are everywhere."

"Really? And what makes you so sure they exist?" Tomoka asked as she crossed her arms over chest. She then threw the boy a challenging look.

Masao's eyes traveled from Tomoka to Sakuno and back. A moment of taciturnity came next. Sakuno straightened herself up in her seat; Tomoka raised a questioning brow.

And then finally, Masao spoke.

"I can see dead people."

Both Tomoka's and Sakuno's eyes widened at his revelation. "You can?"

A still expressionless Masao gave each girl another glance. And then, he shrugged. "Not really. I just wanted to say that line," he said in his regular nonchalant tone.

And then, he walked away, leaving Tomoka to stare after him with her mouth agape.

"I swear, Masao really creeps me out sometimes." Tomoka stated as she returned her attention to Sakuno. "There are just days when he acts so…so weirdly."

The pigtailed girl chuckled. "Well, I guess that's what makes Masao-kun _Masao-kun _right?"

* * *

To say that the atmosphere between them was tensed would be an understatement. 

Hideki knew that sooner or later he would be having this confrontation (again!) with Izumi but he never thought she would react this quickly. What surprised him even more was the fact that Izumi was acting so strangely calm. He knew she was furious, as proven by the look on her face when she entered 1-A's classroom. But instead of nagging him right then and there for all his classmates to see, she suddenly became poised and collected, giving him the impression that she was willing to discuss things with him civilly.

He wondered what caused her unexpected change.

"This is quite a surprise," he said with a hint of incredulity in his voice. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the door frame.

"What is?"

"You're actually not trying to inflict any sort of physical harm on me."

"Well, I hate to have meetings with the Discipline Committee again," Izumi uttered nonchalantly as she flipped a mass of black hair off her shoulder. Then, she intently stared at Hideki, her eyes lingering on the bruise on his face. "Does it still hurt?"

Fleetingly, Hideki's hand moved up to touch the discolored areas underneath his eye. "Not anymore," he answered before his lips curved to form a tiny smile.

Izumi gulped and quickly glanced away. "Too bad." She snobbishly raised her head a little higher. "I guess my punch wasn't as powerful as I thought it was."

The amusement on Hideki's features immediately disappeared. Shoving his hands inside the pockets of his black pants, he slowly stood upright, releasing a sharp breath as he did. "I presume you didn't come here just to ask me how my eye was."

An expressionless Izumi looked back and met his impassive gaze.

"Take it back," she spoke in a voice filled with authority. "Tell the council that you've changed your mind and you'll do another project for the festival."

Hideki let out a few chuckles, which caused the girl to narrow her eyes at him. He simply ignored it, however. "What's the matter? Are you worried that our horror room will receive more profits than 1-F's?" He raised a questioning brow. "If that's the case, then no, I won't do as you say."

"I know what your motives are." She glared at him accusingly. "You are trying to beat me in everything I do just so you can appease your wounded ego."

Hideki shook his head in disbelief. "You are always assuming things."

"You can deny all you want but I can see past your pretenses." Izumi sighed. "Why can't you just move on, Hideki?"

"But I already have. Along time ago, in fact." Hideki's expression turned serious; Izumi flinched. Running a hand through his hair, he chuckled once more. "You know what, it seems to me you're the one who hasn't moved on."

A flabbergasted Izumi stared at him with her mouth agape.

"Which I find rather weird since between the two of us, _I_ was the one who was dumped, not you."

Recovering from her moment of speechlessness, Izumi laughed. "Please." She rolled her eyes. "As if you didn't plan to dump me first. I merely beat you to it."

Hideki furrowed his brow. "I don't know what you're talking about," he almost whispered.

"And you expect me to believe that?" she retorted with an exasperated huff. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Sensing that the conversation was going into a more volatile direction, Hideki decided to put an end to it to prevent the situation from becoming worse. "I am not having this conversation with you anymore." He waved a dismissive hand. "Go back to 1-F, Izumi."

But she wouldn't yield just yet.

"Oh, the great Morikawa Hideki is evading the subject again," she stated, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Fine!"

And then she, after giving him a dagger-look, turned around and started walking towards the direction of the 1-F classroom. She had already managed to take six steps away from him when she suddenly remembered something.

"By the way," she momentarily stopped and looked back, "This coming school festival, we don't have any intentions of losing to you people."

And she continued down the hallway, leaving Hideki to silently stare after her. This went on for just a short moment though for he was distracted by the sound of several muffled voices and scurries coming from the other side of the door.

Pushing the door open, he was greeted by the sight of Kachiro facilitating a meeting with an uncannily quiet and well-behaved group.

His gaze brushed each of the innocent-looking faces inside the room. Snorting, the 1-A class leader laughed to himself.

"Hey guys, next time you listen it to other people's conversation, make sure you do it subtly, okay?"

* * *

"The nerve of that Hideki!" Izumi mumbled as she stomped her way back to the classroom. She had never felt so annoyed in her life. She just couldn't believe that Hideki had candidly accused her of not moving on. "As if! Who does he thinks he is anyway? Me? Not moving on! Duh! I don't even like him anymore." 

Izumi stopped in her tracks as she felt something trickle down her cheek. Inwardly cursing, she immediately wiped it off using the back of her hand. Looking up at the ceiling, Izumi repeatedly fanned herself using her hands. "No way I'm going to cry again because of that delusional jerk! No way!" Closing her eyes, she took one deep breath.

Feeling much better, Izumi decided to resume walking back to 1-F. Along the way, she met one of her classmates. She stopped again.

"Oi, Masao, are you already done with the task I asked you to do."

To Izumi's utter surprise, Masao simply walked by, completely ignoring her and her question.

"Hey, Masao!" she yelled after him but her voice, unfortunately, continued to land on deaf ears.

"What the heck is his problem?" she vexingly mumbled as the boy moved further down the hallway. "Fine! Ignore me!" she bitterly cried out before continuing to 1-F, where she got the biggest surprise of her life.

Opening the door, Izumi found herself face to face with…

"M-masao!"

The black-haired girl's eyes grew wide as saucers. "It's you!!"

"Of course, it's me," the boy deadpanned. "Who are you expecting, Matsumoto Jun?"

Without waiting for her reply, Masao brushed past her and casually walked down the hallway.

Brows knitting in confusion, Izumi followed the boy with her eyes. How was it possible that she had seen Masao just now when she had already met him earlier? What the hell just happened?

Slightly wincing, she briefly touched her temple as she felt her head ache.

"I need an aspirin," she mumbled as closed the door, leaving some of her classmates to look at her in wonder.

Going on an opposite direction, Izumi headed to the school infirmary.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma contemplatively stared at the deserted staircase. Right at that moment, he was in the middle of deciding whether he should go to the rooftop or go back to 1-A. If he went up, he would finally get the shuteye he so long wanted. However, not going back to 1-A would mean he would have to endure the nagging voices of his classmates, who would definitely scold him endlessly for being so uncooperative and apathetic. 

Get a nap or get nagged?

Ah, decisions, decisions.

Finally, he chose the option that would give him less trouble.

Yawning, Ryoma stretched his arms upward. Then, he looked to his right and smirked at the sight of the clear, blue skies. It was a good day for tennis, he thought. And after enduring a tennis-less weekend because of the stormy weather, the renowned tennis prodigy could now hardly wait to get back on the courts again.

But first, he needed to go back to class.

Turning around, he traveled the direction leading to 1-A's classroom. His pace was undeniably slow, however. He was enjoying the hallway's calming silence too much to quickly give it up.

Regrettably, like all good things, it had to end.

The sound of a door creaking caught the Tennis Prince's sharp hearing and halted him in his tracks. Checking the source of the sound, he was a bit surprised that it came from Room 013, the alleged haunted room. Despite this discovery, Ryoma's face remained impassive. He was firm in his belief that Horio's tale was nothing but mere exaggeration. Because of this, he had quickly dismissed the idea that some unseen spirit had opened the door right now. Instead, he entertained the more plausible possibility that someone had left the room earlier and simply forgot to close the door tight.

Ryoma stared at the door that was currently ajar. He wondered if he should leave it alone, or if he should close it. Letting his impulse decide for him, he walked back to Room 013 and shut the door close.

Facing his right, he was about to walk away when he heard a 'click'. Looking back, he saw the door gradually open once more. Creaking noises shattered the silence.

Eyes narrowing, Ryoma carefully approached Room 013. Out of curiosity, he peered into the space that was created by the slight opening of the door. Unfortunately, the lighting inside the room was so bad, he could barely see anything. Taking hold of the door handle, he thought of pushing the door wider to let more daylight in. But he was unable to do this as he suddenly felt a brush of warm air on his nape. For a moment, Ryoma stiffened.

And then slowly, the Tennis Prince looked back.

**TBC.**

* * *

First of all, I want to thank everyone who left their comments for the previous chapter. You made Meme a very happy person. :D Second, to those people who sent me a message about the RyoSaku part, I apologize if there's still zero RyoSaku interaction in this chapter. It will happen, I promise...but only after I've finished setting up the basic plot elements. 

As usual, if you see any mistakes, just feel free to point them out.


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